


For You

by TheCrusaderKing



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Anger, Angst, Awkward Romance, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dancing, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Gun Violence, Hatred, Jealousy, Parent-Child Relationship, Revenge, Romance, Snark, Teen Romance, Torture, Violentine Changes, Walkers (Walking Dead), but with some changes, mostly canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:01:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27314464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCrusaderKing/pseuds/TheCrusaderKing
Summary: A somewhat rewrite of S4 Episode 3. Mostly canon, but with a lot of extra violentine flavoring along the way.This fic was a request by Elvenheart65, and is a gift to them.
Relationships: AJ | Alvin Jr. & Clementine (Walking Dead), Clementine & Violet (Walking Dead: Done Running), Clementine/Violet (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	For You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Elvenheart65](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elvenheart65/gifts).



> 1\. Whew, am I glad to be putting this out! I got this as a request ages ago from [Elvenheart65,](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elvenheart65) and I hope they'll enjoy what I've cooked up for them. I hope the rest of you will enjoy it too! It's pretty long, but that's nothing unusual for me. Definitely will take a bit of time to read, though not as long as it took me to get it done thankfully!
> 
> 2\. Like the summary says, this is basically season 3 of the final season, but with extra violentine. Nothing too extreme in terms of differences, except for maybe one moment, but I hope you'll like all the new violentine moments!

_ ‘Everything is so fucked…’ _

As much as Clementine wanted to avoid it, to think positively, to have hope for the future, she just kept coming back to that one thought.

Mitch was  _ dead,  _ the main gate was currently hanging wide open for any walker that happened by, they had just barely managed to keep the administrative building from burning down, and worst of all, Omar, Aasim, and Louis had all been kidnapped by Lilly and her soldiers.

_ ‘Oh Louis…’  _ She’d had a chance to save him, when that soldier had grabbed him, but… Violet had needed her too. 

Clementine told herself that it was a decision made in the heat of the moment, that she hadn’t had time to think, but she knew what had really happened. In that moment, she just couldn’t bear the thought of losing  _ another  _ person she loved, who she had only  _ just _ realized she loved that night. The guilt gnawed at her, but she couldn’t afford to dwell on it now, not when there was so much left to do…

Most of the clean up was done by this point, the bodies of the walkers that had come in the wake of Lilly’s retreat piled up outside the walls to be burned, along with the shattered corpse of that raider they’d killed with a falling bag of bricks.

Her stomach still twisted as she thought of the state they’d found him in, just a squirming pile of meat and broken bones, still snarling as she drove her knife through its skull.

Now, there was only one body left to take care of… Mitch.

Willy had stayed with him all night, and no one had had the heart to drag him away to help with the clean up. It was almost funny in a twisted sort of way. Clementine had seen so many people die over the years, people she cared about, and yet, it still broke her heart. She and Mitch hadn’t even gotten along all that well, but it still left a burning sensation in her chest to see him like that, pale and lifeless on the cold ground.

Ruby was busy digging a grave. Hopefully it would make everyone feel more at peace with what had happened, but, somewhere deep within her, Clementine couldn’t help but feel a sting of resentment. No one she had loved had ever gotten the luxury of a burial. She pushed that thought down. It wouldn’t help anything.

Even after a long night of tears, Willy still had the strength to cry over his friend’s body. She offered what comfort she could, but she knew it was hollow compared to what he was no doubt feeling. _ Anger. Sorrow. Hatred... _

At least Clementine knew he was ready to take the fight to the raiders. They’d need everyone to get their friends back.

Before long, Violet came by to let them know that Abel was tied up in the basement. Not that he would be going anywhere with his busted leg, but it was nice to have some insurance.

Clementine swallowed down her guilt at the cheer she felt at the sight of Violet alive and well, while Louis was being taken god-knows-where. She knew it was selfish, but she couldn’t help but be grateful that Violet was here with her. She didn’t know how she’d cope without the older girl by her side.

Willy blamed Tenn for Mitch’s death. He was right, in a way. What Tenn had done was stupid, but she defended him anyway. Pointing fingers wouldn’t help anything. They needed to be united for the job they had ahead of them.

Tenn ran off, and Violet offered to take care of things up here. Once again, Clementine was grateful for her help. Keeping people together would be impossible on her own.

As she held Violet’s hand, silently thanking her for her support, Clementine was suddenly overcome with the urge to hold Violet close, and so she did. Before the blonde could question it, Clementine pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tightly as a range of emotions ran through her head, everything from worry to fear to contentment as she felt Violet against her.

After a moment or two of shock, Violet reciprocated, pressing a smile against Clementine’s shoulder. “I know you can get him to talk Clem. You’re tough.  _ Way _ tougher than any of us.” Violet chuckled. “Honestly, he’ll probably shit his pants just seeing you after everything you’ve done to him.”

Violet’s words were…  _ surprisingly sweet  _ considering she was talking about torturing a man, and Clementine smiled softly. It had been so long since someone had offered her comfort rather than the other way around. It was…  _ nice. _

They pulled back, and Violet offered her a small smile and a nod. “Go get ‘em.”

With that, Clementine set off in the direction of the basement, feeling much more confident after that little pep talk. With Violet’s words still ringing in her ears, Clementine knew that she was ready to do anything to get their people home safe…

* * *

_ ‘I can’t do it.’ _

It was a bitter revelation, and hard to stomach for Clementine. Despite everything, despite all that Abel and his people had done to hers, she just couldn’t bring herself to hurt him.

It wasn’t like it would’ve been the first time she had done something like this. Clementine had killed and hurt s _ o many people, _ some who deserved it… and some who hadn’t. It should’ve been  _ easy. _ Abel was withholding the information she needed to get her friends back. She had  _ killed  _ people for less, and yet, she just couldn’t do it.

It wasn’t like she hadn’t thought about it either. There were so many moments where she had wanted to just let loose, to make Abel  _ suffer  _ for denying her what she wanted. And yet, at each opportunity, whether it was to sic Rosie on the crippled man, or burn him with his own bible cigarette, she always felt  _ Lee _ at the back of her mind, telling her that she was  _ better  _ than that, that there was another way. Was she going crazy? Was she finally cracking under the pressure of so much loss?

Whatever that voice really was, Clementine gave in, remaining patient as she tried to get the information out of her prisoner. Maybe it was cowardly, and hypocritical, but she didn’t want to live like that anymore. Too many people had died to keep her alive for her to simply become another monster. She had to try and be better, for their sakes.

_ ‘And besides.’  _ Clementine had thought, looking down at AJ, by her side as they interrogated Abel.  _ ‘I need to set a good example. He has to be better than me… he has to be.’ _

In the end, they still got the information they needed, by promising to put Abel out of his misery once it was clear he was dying. Her friends were being kept on a boat, a few miles west of the school. Clementine knew the river. She’d seen it on one of Marlon’s maps.

She kept her promise, ending Abel’s life with her knife through his temple. A quick death. She’d tried to keep AJ from seeing, but the boy had insisted on staying. It was at times like this that she worried about AJ, wondering what he would become after seeing all this violence, wondering if she had failed to raise him right.

As they left the basement to tell the others of what they had learned, Clementine couldn’t help but think back on what had just happened. If she couldn’t even torture a man in order to save her friends, would she really have what it takes to get them back?

Clementine sighed deeply as they stepped up into the sunlight.  _ ‘Guess there’s only one way to find out…’ _

* * *

The river was about an hour’s walk from the school.

As Clementine checked the map again, having brought AJ, Violet, and Willy along for the scouting trip, she finally understood why Lilly had wanted her help to lead them to Ericson’s.

The forest was dense, with few pathways to ease their travel. It was only by the combined efforts of Willy and Violet’s experience, along with the map Clementine had brought along, that they were able to find their way at all. It was a testament to how isolated the school truly was, clearly a benefit when it came to warding off unwelcome strangers.

Willy still blamed Tenn for what had happened, and had no problem making his feelings known at every opportunity, much to her quiet aggravation. In turn, AJ stuck up for his drawing buddy, which, while a kind gesture that warmed Clementine’s heart to see him sticking up for his friend, unfortunately just added to the building throbbing sensation in her forehead. Luckily, their latest spat was cut off when Violet caught sight of their target through the tree line, and suddenly they were back to business as they approached the riverboat.

It was rusted and ramshackle, like most things these days, but if Abel was right, it was fully functional.  _ ‘Whoever these people are, they must have a lot of resources if they can send out boats like this.’ _

The thought sent a shiver down Clementine’s spine. Abel had mentioned that they needed soldiers to fight some other group. If they had resources like this at their disposal, and they still had to resort to kidnapping kids to fight their battles for them, how big was this other group? Ericson’s couldn’t afford to get caught up in their war, that was for certain.

Getting their friends back would be even harder than she had thought. The boat was heavily-guarded, and those guards were heavily-armed. There was no cover leading up to the boat, and any angle of approach had at least one guard keeping watch. 

As she checked in with the others, she noticed a few points of interest on the river shore, things that they might be able to use. At one end there were horses, no doubt brought along on the boat, along with a few piles of hay in a makeshift stable. At the other end, Willy pointed out a raft laden with building materials, wood and metal, no doubt scavenged from the local area. It would be risky, but they might be able to use these things to create a distraction… or maybe even take them for themselves.

As she crouched next to Violet, she couldn’t help but notice that the blonde seemed quite perturbed by something as she looked out at the riverboat. “You feeling okay?”

Violet observed the boat a minute more, before turning to address Clementine. “Yeah-I mean...  _ yeah... _ It’s just… how are we gonna do this? I mean, we aren’t  _ not  _ going to do this, not when our people are stuck on that thing, but… how? From the way things look out there, we’ll all get ourselves killed before we even get that boat…”

Clementine placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “We’ll find a way, alright? We’re going to get our friends back…” She hesitated a moment before continuing. “And besides, I’m not gonna let anything happen to  _ you,  _ or anyone else. Not on my watch.”

To her surprise, Violet snorted at her words. “Y’know, it should probably be  _ me _ saying that to  _ you.” _

Cocking an eyebrow, Clementine stared at her girlfriend with a mixture of amusement and confusion. “What’s  _ that  _ supposed to mean?”

Violet gave a little smirk at that. “You know… it’s just that I’m older than you and all. I should be the one telling you it’s all gonna be okay, since I have more  _ life experience  _ and all that junk.”

Personally, Clementine thought that she had  _ much  _ more life experience than Violet did, seeing that she hadn’t spent most of her life cooped up in an old boarding school in the middle of nowhere, but she played along, giving Violet an indulgent smile. “Fine then… we won’t let anything happen to  _ each other.”  _ Her smile morphed into a smirk as she gazed at Violet from beneath the brim of her hat. “Happy now?”

_ “Smartass.” _ Her girlfriend huffed, shaking her head, though the smile she tried to hide made it clear that her words had the desired effect.

That moment of levity was a nice distraction, but Clementine couldn’t deny the daunting nature of the task ahead of them. The sight of Louis made it clear that their friends were aboard, but that still left them to figure out how they would get them back…

As they watched from the treeline, Clementine found an answer to their problem. Walkers approached the pier the boat was docked at, and were quickly dispatched by a sniper with a crossbow. A few weeks ago, that wouldn’t have meant anything, but it just so happened that she knew someone who could potentially help them move a whole lot of walkers, enough to create a distraction that could get them onto the boat. Combine that with her old trick of covering herself in walker guts, and they just might be able to walk right in.

She kept her plan to herself for the moment. She wanted to gather everyone up and get to a safe distance before they talked ideas…

* * *

Once they finished their observations, they did just that, retreating further into the woods and away from the river to talk strategy. 

As soon as Clementine felt that they were far enough to avoid detection, she relaxed slightly as they started to talk, though they kept walking all the while.

As they moved, they decided on a plan of action. To create a distraction, they would burn the building materials the Delta was gathering. At the same time, they would try to steal those horses AJ had seen. Not only would they be useful for scavenging farther from the school, it would also keep the soldiers from running them down on horseback once they had to flee.

With that decided, Clementine revealed her plan to recruit James for their mission. She didn’t say much, just that James had saved her and AJ by moving walkers, and that he might be able to do it again.

She decided not to mention that part of the plan would involve them covering themselves in guts and sneaking in with the walkers. Probably for the best that she kept it to herself for now...

Just as Willy was posing the difficult question of how they’d stop the raiders from coming after them again, a noise from the right made them all freeze in their tracks. As she looked in the direction of the sound, she caught sight of a girl chopping wood.  _ ‘Shit.’ _

With a few words from Clementine, all four of them scurried into cover, somehow avoiding detection by who could only be one of the raiders.

Mind pacing rapidly, an idea sprung forth in Clementine’s mind. It would be risky for sure, but that raider could hold valuable information that could help them rescue their friends. Whispering to the others, she made her intentions known, and quietly crept out of cover, keeping a low profile as she approached the raider, a girl in a dark, fur-lined jacket, with lively auburn hair. The raider seemed totally oblivious, caught up in chopping wood with a red-bladed fire axe.

As she neared the other girl, Clementine pulled out her knife, moving quickly as she lunged forward to wind her hand around the girl’s front, holding her knife to the redhead's pale throat as she ordered her to drop the axe.

Breathing heavily, the taller girl did as she was told, dropping her tool to the ground with a heavy thud. Nodding to herself in satisfaction, Clementine started her questioning. “Where do you keep the people you steal?” She kept her voice even, and spoke slowly, so there would be no mistaking her words.

Unfortunately, the raider had a bit of fight in her. “I don’t know what you’re-”

Clementine brought her knife closer to the girl’s neck, just barely stopping in time to avoid nicking her flesh. “I’m  _ not  _ fucking around. Answer the question.”

With a shuddering breath, the raider gave in. “The boiler deck. second deck. They’re all there…”

From behind her, Clementine heard footsteps as the others came out of hiding, distracted as Violet’s voice rang out behind her. “Clementine, wait!”

Turning slightly to try and look at Violet, to see what she wanted, the raider took advantage of her momentary distraction, shoving her knife away from her throat and twisting out of her grip, spinning around to face them with wild, blue eyes, her red hair almost completely obscuring the right side of her face.

Violet continued, seemingly in shock as she stared at the redhead. “That’s… that’s  _ Minnie.” _

Clementine stared at them in unrestrained surprise, mouth hanging open as she realized that  _ this  _ was the Minerva that Marlon had traded to the Delta.

That shock was replaced with a sudden jolt of  _ jealousy  _ as Violet and Minnie stepped into a hug, though she tried her best to stamp it out, knowing how selfish it was. Still, she couldn’t help the bile rising in her throat as she recalled the initials she’d seen in the fishing shack. Violet and Minnie had been  _ together  _ before the latter had been kidnapped, and as awful as it was, Clementine couldn’t help but feel territorial over Violet, wondering if the redhead would try to reclaim the relationship they’d had before.

That feeling remained with her for the rest of the conversation, as Minerva asked after the other kids at the school, talking about Tenn’s  _ boots  _ of all things. Clementine couldn’t help but snap at her a little, not liking all this small talk. That just got Minnie’s attention on her.

Apparently, the Delta all assumed that  _ she  _ was in charge. It made sense why they’d think that considering she led the defense when Lilly had come knocking. Still, she didn’t hesitate to give Violet her just due. The blonde had been an immense help during the preparations, keeping people focused and working. They never would’ve got as far as they did without her leading the way.

Her brow furrowed as Minnie disparaged Violet’s leadership qualities, wanting to speak up in her defense. Violet herself just crossed her arms and remained silent, and so Clementine followed suit, not wanting to start something when Violet was staying cool.

Apparently the Delta had come here expecting Marlon to just surrender the whole school without a fight. Unfortunately for them, and luckily for Clementine’s friends, that didn’t happen.

Minnie accused Clementine of ruining the whole plan, saying that she was going to get everyone killed.

Clementine just glared at the taller girl, not about to take such words without a fight. She didn’t hesitate to reveal that Marlon had murdered Brody.  _ That  _ got a reaction, the redhead’s anger melting into shock at the revelation.

Clementine preened to herself, happy to have gotten one over her potential rival, as disgusting as she knew it was to think of her like that. That brief moment of pleasure was cut short though, when Violet inquired about Sophie, Minerva’s twin, and Tenn’s other older sister. Minnie didn’t have good news to share.

What was worse about it was how Minnie made out like Sophie’s death was some sort of…  _ heroic sacrifice  _ or some bullshit like that, as though she’d had a choice in dying for someone else’s war. Just as she was about to give Minerva a piece of her mind, a much dreaded voice could be heard calling out from behind them.  _ ‘Lilly!’ _

Moving quickly, they all scattered, everyone finding a tree to hide behind except for Minerva, who remained out in the open as she responded with some sort of callsign, standing at attention as Lilly told her to finish up with what she was doing and head back to the boat. Luckily, Minnie didn’t seem interested in ratting them out, as she allowed Lilly to leave without a word about her impromptu  _ company. _

Slowly, Minerva picked up her discarded axe, and started walking in the direction of the river, only to come to a stop by the tree Clementine was hiding behind. The redhead explained that they’d be leaving in two days, and that it would be weeks before they came back down again. She told Clementine not to fight back like she did before.

Clementine was only really interested in the first part of that, realizing that they had a very short window of opportunity to get their friends back.

Still, she wasn’t going to let the other girl have the last word. Fixing her with a hard look, Clementine allowed her venomous feelings towards the redhead to run loose. “If Tenn could see you now, he’d be  _ ashamed _ to call you his sister.”

At that, Minnie’s expression grew dark in anger, and she ran off without another word, leaving the rest of them to regroup and decide their next move.

Clementine tried to offer what comfort she could to her girlfriend, but Violet brushed it off, insisting that nothing had changed, that they still needed to get the others back. Clementine just nodded, recognizing that she needed some space to process everything that had just happened.

To that end, Clementine decided to send Violet and Willy home, both so that the former could have time to think about what had just happened, and so that they could tell everyone about the plan.

Of course, Willy just couldn’t resist the chance to take one last crack at Tenn, and  _ of course,  _ that set AJ off. Clementine shut it down, but it seemed she’d need to have a  _ talk  _ with AJ soon...

And so they parted ways, Violet and Willy heading back to the school to make sure everyone knew about the plan, while Clementine and AJ set off in search of James, to see if he’d be willing to help them with their plan to rescue their friends from the Delta…

* * *

On the way to the camp where they had last seen James, Clementine tried her best to keep things light, pondering loudly about how many walkers they’d get. That attempt at levity was cut short though when AJ hunched over, clearly in pain. It had been weeks since he’d been shot by Abel, but evidently it wasn’t fully healed yet. They came to a stop so that he could rest, only for AJ to bring up something else that was troubling him…

He spoke at length about the anger he felt towards Willy, how he wanted to hurt him… It broke Clementine’s heart to hear that he didn’t even like feeling so angry.

She did her best to advise him, telling him that it was okay to feel that way, but that he should never act on it. AJ seemed to accept that logic, though even she knew it was easier said than done. She’d known fully-grown adults who couldn’t even control their anger.

Even more heart-breaking was when he revealed that, despite defending him, even  _ he _ was angry at Tenn for what he’d one.

All Clementine could do was tell AJ that they’d help Tenn learn to be smarter about these things, like they were, to make sure he wouldn’t make the same mistake again. It had to be possible right? Once upon a time, even she was a stupid kid who got people killed… They’d help Tenn, and all the other kids learn to be survivors like they were.

Clementine couldn’t help but smile to herself at the thought of teaching Violet how to use a gun. It would be…  _ nice _ to share that experience with her.

She was shaken out of her daydreaming as AJ latched onto an off-hand statement she’d made about the school being for “troubled youth.” Him being a little kid with very limited knowledge of the world, he immediately latched onto the word “troubled” as meaning bad, and Clementine suddenly found herself explaining to him what trauma was.

Mostly, she just regurgitated what Dr. Lingard had once told her, though admittedly it wasn’t much. Of course, there weren’t exactly any doctors around to help with that sort of thing these days. They all had their trauma, and they’d have to support each other through it.

With her explanation concluded, they started walking again, and Clementine was happy to hear how AJ talked about Tenn as his friend, though she did take  _ some _ offense when AJ declared that she was too old to be a “real friend.” Still, she was glad to hear that he had a friend at all. For so long it had just been the two of them, out on the road. It was nice that AJ was able to have at least  _ some  _ semblance of a childhood, even if it was buried under all the struggles they faced.

Their conversation was put on hold as they spotted walkers up ahead, milling around in what appeared to be James’ camp.  _ ‘Shit! I hope he’s okay…’ _

They crouched down behind a fallen log as they observed the situation. James was nowhere to be seen...

Just as she was getting ready to move up and take out the walkers, the sound of someone clearing their throat behind them made her whip around. It was James, and from the looks of his shoulder, he was hurt as well.  _ ‘I hope that’s not a bite…’ _

Luckily, it wasn’t. Apparently, James had been shot by the raiders when he tried to check out their caravan, having seen that they’d captured people from the school. Whatever he’d done, the Delta had been forced to leave one of their caged wagons behind, sitting not too far from where James was camped.

Clementine informed him that they needed his help, but there was one problem. James’ mask was still in the camp, currently surrounded by walkers. Worse, was that James asked her not to kill any of them. As crazy as it was, Clementine couldn’t afford to alienate James when they needed him for their plan, and so she agreed, rushing out to dodge and weave around the walkers while James retrieved his mask.

It went better than expected, at least until James realized that the bag with his mask had been scattered by the Delta, leaving it leaning against a tree, with almost a dozen walkers between them and it.

Just as Clementine was about to suggest that they just fight their way through, AJ came to the rescue, nearly giving her a heart attack in the process. He yelled at the walkers to follow him, leading them away from Clementine and James, but there were still too many.

Thinking quickly, they used the wagon to their advantage, pushing it down a hill to draw the walkers away with the noise, even as one of them tried to lunge for her, earning a kick to the leg that sent it to its knees. That did it, sending the whole pack of them chasing after the loud clamor while the three of them were left to finally retrieve the mask, and they could get to talking about what Clementine needed.

James seemed reluctant to let them use walkers for their mission. He asked them to come with him, so they could  _ understand what they were asking.  _ Whatever that meant. Still, she agreed, fully aware that the plan wouldn’t work without his cooperation.

He led them to a barn where he could apparently show them what he was talking about. There, AJ found a saltlick, which Clementine encouraged him to lick, laughing as he gagged and spluttered at the horrid taste. It was fun to be on the other end of this interaction for once, and she’d miss this sort of thing once the day came when he’d no longer blindly trust her not to mess with him.

What James asked her to do next promptly erased her good humor.

Not only was the barn full of  _ walkers,  _ he wanted her to put on his mask and  _ walk amongst them. _

Clementine’s first instinct was to refuse outright, a response that AJ shared, making it very clear that he thought this was ridiculous. As much as she wanted to tell James just where he could stick his mask however, she  _ needed  _ his help for the rescue. And so, as reluctant as she was, she agreed, putting on the mask despite AJ’s nervousness at the prospect.

It was every bit as terrifying as she expected it to be. Every moment Clementine was in there, she felt like she was just seconds from death, which she  _ was.  _ At one point a walker moved right into her path, and it was only thanks to a lucky shove from one of the others that it got out of her way. James had asked her to ring the windchimes while she was in there, and she complied, despite having to put her hand  _ unreasonably  _ close to a walker’s mouth to achieve it.

As she expected, the walkers all gathered around to watch as the windchimes clinked gently above them. It was…  _ kinda peaceful,  _ she had to admit, but she was still glad to get out of there.

Knowing that she needed his help, Clementine told James what he wanted to hear, that maybe there  _ was  _ something more to walkers. She didn’t really know  _ what  _ to believe herself, but her words seemed to make him happy.

The mood shifted slightly when AJ revealed to James that he’d killed before. She’d really have to get around to teaching him about  _ inappropriate sharing,  _ not that it mattered at the moment.

Despite everything she’d just done to convince him, James  _ still  _ wasn’t onboard with their plan, as though walker lives were somehow more important than human lives. Clementine asked him point blank if that was what he believed.

Clementine barely held back her scoff when James had the  _ audacity  _ to say that walkers were more peaceful than humans, as though his little friends didn’t dedicate their entire existence to hunting down and feasting on the living. The idea that anyone could last this long and think that walkers were somehow  _ peaceful?  _ She would’ve laughed in disbelief if the situation wasn’t so serious.

Luckily for everyone, she was able to convince him in the end. James would send his walkers, gathering others as he went, to act as a distraction at the river.

Now, their course was set, and the clock was ticking. It would take all day to get them into position, and so the plan would go ahead late that night. That would give them time to prepare themselves, and hopefully get some sleep in beforehand.

As they walked away, leaving James to his work. AJ asked Clementine if she really believed what she’d said to James, about walkers being alive...

She did her best to be honest with him. They really had no way of knowing for sure. James  _ could  _ be right. It wasn’t like anyone really knew for sure what happens when you die. AJ seemed to accept that answer, for now at least. Now, it was time to get back to the school, and ready themselves for what laid ahead…

* * *

They found Ruby in the dorm, carrying two pillows in her arms. Apparently it had been decided that the school would hold one last party to lift people’s spirits, since it may be the last chance they got. A little bit pessimistic, but Clementine could see why the others would think that. What they were planning would be extremely dangerous, and if people wanted to have some fun before then, she wouldn’t stop them.

AJ was enthusiastic at any rate, jumping at the chance to make decorations for the party.

_ ‘Good.’  _ Clementine thought to herself as he rushed into their room, slamming the door behind him.  _ ‘One last chance for him to be a kid before, well… everything.’ _

She followed not soon after, Ruby having asked for her coffee heater to brew some tea for everyone.

Clementine took the opportunity to offload some random knick-knacks she’d found to decorate the room, and grabbed the heater. No sooner had she placed it in her pack than AJ was calling her over to see what he’d made.

It was a cute little drawing of Aasim, Omar, and Louis, a reminder of what they were fighting for. It wouldn’t win any awards, but AJ was proud of it, and that meant more to her than any fancy painting done by some professional artist who’d been dead for a hundred years.

Sadly, his good mood didn’t last, and she inquired as to what was bothering him, hating to see him so clearly upset.

She listened carefully, not interrupting as AJ revealed how upset he’d been to see Abel die like that, even though he didn’t like the man. His empathy warmed her heart, and she told him so, telling him that it was a  _ good  _ thing to feel like that. Sometimes, killing was necessary to stay alive, but that didn’t mean they had to enjoy it, or that they should lose their compassion. Clementine was  _ proud  _ that AJ was able to retain such kindness after everything he’d seen.

What AJ said next turned that pride into fear, as he began to talk about something else he’d been thinking about recently. Namely, the possibility of Clementine getting bit.

Her blood ran cold to hear him discuss it like this, but if he was going to bring it up, then she would make herself very clear. If she ever got bit, then AJ would have to… put her out of her misery. It was what she’d done for Lee, and while she hoped it would never come to that, she needed to know that AJ could do it for her.

AJ didn’t like that, not that she was surprised. It was hard to think about, even for her, but she wasn’t going to back down.

His refusal angered Clementine greatly, but what he said next, replaced all that anger with shock, and a hint of fear. He wanted Clementine to bite him too, as though that was something she would ever allow. She’d find a way to do herself in before she ever allowed herself to become a threat to AJ, or any of her friends.

She did her best to shut that talk down, to make him understand that  _ he could do it.  _ AJ was strong, and not only that, he’d made a promise, one that Clementine wasn’t about to let him break.

As perhaps one last attempt to convince her, AJ brought up what James had said about walkers. Clementine simply reminded him that, again, they had  _ no idea  _ if that was true, and they couldn’t risk everything like that just because James  _ said so. _

He stopped arguing after that, though she couldn’t tell if he’d given in, or if he merely understood that he wouldn’t get anywhere with her at that moment. Whatever it was, he asked if he could go out on patrol before the party. Clementine allowed it. Although she wished they could leave on better terms, she knew better than to push him too much. She’d make sure to talk to him before they left for the rescue though. If anything… if anything went wrong, they needed to be clear about what he would do.

AJ slammed through the door on his way out, clearly eager to be away from her for a moment. Standing just outside the door was Violet, wearing the expression of someone who’d very narrowly avoided getting smacked in the face as she watched him run past.

The blonde turned back to Clementine with a questioning look as she stepped through the doorway, closing it behind her.

Clementine simply said that he needed some space, not really wanting to go into specifics about their little spat, not even with Violet.

Violet had her own concerns to share with Clementine. They talked about Minerva, and how they couldn’t really trust her. It was awful, but Clementine couldn’t help the relief she felt when Violet declared that the  _ real  _ Minnie, the Minnie she’d known, was gone. She knew it was  _ wrong, _ and  _ selfish, _ and  _ terrible, _ but a part of her was  _ glad _ that she wouldn’t have any competition when it came to Violet, as though that even mattered compared to everything else they had to worry about.

The conversation moved on to Louis then. Violet really cared about him, more than Clementine would’ve thought just watching them interact. They’d always seemed like such opposites to her.  _ ‘I guess that’s what lets them be such great friends.’ _

Violet’s words strengthened Clementine’s resolve to save Louis and the others. They all deserved better, and she’d do her best to give it to them, whatever it took.

Before she knew it, the conversation shifted again. Violet was holding out a pin that she’d made for Clementine, all on her own, as a token of her affection. It looked just like a starry night sky, much like the one they’d witnessed together at the tower…

Clementine was deeply touched that someone would make something like this for her, and she regretted that she had yet to offer any such tokens of her own.  _ ‘Someday… once this is all over.’ _

She’d never taken Violet to be the sentimental type, but, the more Clementine thought about it, the more she realized that she’d lucked out to have someone like Violet as her girlfriend. She couldn’t imagine anyone else who could support her through this like the blonde could, and yet still find the time to make something as simple yet beautiful as that pin, all for her.

What Violet said next came as a surprise, though it was far from unwelcome.

Shifting nervously, Violet asked her to dance, something she’d apparently wanted to do with someone she cared about for quite some time. Clementine had never done anything like that either, but she was willing to try, especially if it would make her girlfriend happy.

Without another word, Clementine took her by the hand, and together they swayed gently back and forth, Violet’s hands on her shoulders, while Clementine’s own were clasped at Violet’s sides, holding her loosely as they stared into each other’s eyes, purely basking in the presence of the one they loved. It was… a little awkward, and there wasn’t any music to guide their somewhat jerky movements, but it was still perfect to Clementine. Just being here, in the arms of her girlfriend… it made everything worth it.

When they finished, Violet pulled her into a hug, her head resting on Clementine’s shoulder as they held each other tightly. Clementine just smiled and closed her eyes, allowing herself to enjoy the other girl’s warmth.

Finally, Violet pulled back, just enough so they were face to face. “Thanks for the dance.” Her words were soft, shy, but not as much as they had been when she first asked.

Clementine smiled as she studied Violet’s pale face and lovely green eyes. “Yeah… I think we’re getting better at being romantic.”

Violet giggled at that, a sound so strange and yet so delightful coming from the normally reserved girl. Clementine was utterly besotted as they stayed like that for a moment, simply observing each other with matching dopey smiles on their faces.

Suddenly, Violet’s eyes were on her hair, and she reached up with a hand to gently twirl a curl between two fingers. Clementine leaned into it, or at least, she did, until Violet spoke. “So… what’s the story behind this?”

Clementine’s smile lessened slightly, brow furrowing at Violet’s question. “Story behind what?”

“Your  _ hair.”  _ Violet clarified, like it was  _ obvious.  _ “What’s with the one pigtail?”

Clementine immediately felt self-conscious as she reached back to poke at her hair carefully, though the feeling lessened when she saw that there was no judgement in Violet’s eyes. “Well… it’s not like I was running into any hairdressers out there. I had to cut my hair myself.” She smiled sheepishly. “It’s not exactly the  _ easiest  _ thing in the world to make your hair look good when you have to cut it with a knife.”

“I never said it looked  _ bad.”  _ Violet stressed, as though worried Clementine had taken offense. “I was just curious… y’know, I could fix your hair up properly, if you wanted…”

“Really?” Clementine blurted, unable to hide her skepticism.  _ “You  _ know how to do hair?”

Violet snorted. “Gee, try not to sound so surprised…” Her cheer faded slightly as she explained. “I… I used to do it for some of the other girls. It was a while ago, but… I  _ think  _ I could still do it.”

It was left unspoken that those girls were all dead now, but Clementine caught it nonetheless. She frowned at the sorrow in her girlfriend’s voice, and decided that there was no harm in letting her give it a try. “Okay then… I trust you. Let’s do it.”

She smiled at Violet to show her confidence in her ability, and the other girl blushed, stammering slightly. “Y-yeah, okay. I-I’ll just go get a comb, some bobby pins, and one of those hair ties. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Sure enough, Violet returned a few minutes later with the items she’d specified. Despite herself, Clementine couldn’t help but wince at the sight of the comb, knowing how tangled her hair must be at this point, and very much not looking forward to Violet having to  _ untangle  _ it.

Clementine’s girlfriend directed her to sit at the desk where AJ did his drawings, and Clementine obeyed, placing her hat to the side as Violet got right to work, undoing her lonely pigtail.

Just as expected, her hair was tangled beyond belief.  _ “O-ow!”  _ Clementine yelped as Violet pulled the comb through roughly. “I thought you said you knew what you were doing.” She muttered, slightly bitter as Violet wrestled with her curls.

“I  _ did  _ say I was rusty.” Violet chuckled, actually seeming to  _ enjoy  _ her pain. “And I  _ do _ know what I’m doing. It’s not my fault your hair is so messy.”

“You could at least be more gentle.” Clementine grumbled, wincing as Violet pulled the comb through again.

Finally, her hair was untangled, and the blonde could get to work. “Okay, I’m gonna try and put it into an upside-down braided bun.” Violet muttered, seemingly lost in her work as she started to pull on the hair at Clementine’s nape, presumably braiding it, though she couldn’t actually see what her girlfriend was doing. “If that’s okay with you!” She continued suddenly, as though she’d just remembered that she was working on a  _ person  _ and not a doll.

Clementine tried to nod, only to grimace as her hair was yanked in Violet’s grip. “Whatever you think is best. You’re the expert here.”  _ ‘Speaking of that…’ _ “So… how  _ do  _ you know how to do this? You seem to know a lot about it. Well, more than I do at least…”

Violet continued working, a brief movement in her hands indicating that she’d shrugged. “Like I said, I got a lot of practice. Plus, there were some books about it in the library… not like there’s a whole lot of things to do for fun around here. I learned some stuff from those books, and pretty soon, well... my services were in high demand.”

“Glad to know my hair is in the hands of a professional.” Clementine joked, and Violet swatted at her head lightly, making her giggle.

They were quiet after that, Clementine simply allowing Violet to go to work. She was surprised at how efficient the older girl was, braiding her hair all the way up the back of her head, and then taking what was left and gathering it into a ponytail, tying it off with the hair tie she’d brought earlier. Then, with all the grace of someone who’d done this before, she positioned the bobby pins to put the ponytail up into a bun to finish the look.

“Are you done?” Clementine questioned as she felt the blonde’s hands pull away, twisting in her seat to look at Violet.

The older girl nodded, looking quite satisfied with her work. “I think that should be good enough. I… I hope you like it…” Her eyes widened in realization as she trailed off.  _ “Damn it! _ Should’ve brought a mirror. I can go find one if-”

She stopped talking as Clementine stood up from her seat, walking over until she was face-to-face with her girlfriend as she reached up to brush at the bun with a finger. “It’s okay Vi… I trust you. If  _ you _ think it looks good, then I  _ know  _ it looks good.”

The blonde blushed brightly, cheeks going bright red. “I-I mean, I was just… okay.” She finished lamely.

Clementine patted her on the cheek. “We can always go find a mirror later, if you really want to…” Without waiting for a response, she turned to grab her hat, nestling it over her head once more. She turned back to Violet, only to frown at the stunned look on her face. “What’s wrong?”

Violet crossed her arms. “Are you  _ seriously  _ gonna put your hat on  _ over  _ my hard work? You can’t even see it now!”

The younger girl’s frown deepened, not wanting to give up her beloved hat.  _ “I  _ know it’s here.” She whined, almost childishly.

The blonde just sighed, an exasperated smile growing on her lips as she shook her head. “You sure are  _ special  _ Clem, you know that?”

Clementine grinned, stepping right into Violet’s personal space. “Special in a  _ good _ way, right?”

Violet nodded, eyes gazing over Clementine’s face fondly. “The  _ best  _ way.” She confirmed.

For a moment, they stared at each other, and Clementine wondered if this would be a good time to sneak in a kiss as her eyes darted down to Violet’s lips. Violet seemed to notice that, leaning in a little, and Clementine followed suit, heart beating rapidly. Just as their lips were about to connect, the door opened abruptly, and they jumped apart.

AJ rushed into the room, heedless of the moment he was interrupting as he held what appeared to be a  _ beach ball  _ of all things in his arms.

Clementine’s heart was beating out of control, and her face felt like it had been doused in flames. She didn’t even have time to be annoyed before AJ was tossing the ball at her. It bounced off her face with a comical  _ thonk, _ and Clementine sputtered as it fell, just barely managing to catch it in her hands as both AJ and Violet laughed at her. She felt ready to die of embarrassment right then and there.

Violet excused herself then, shuffling out of the room as AJ watched her go, a questioning look on his face as he turned back to Clementine.

For the briefest of moments, Clementine wanted to strangle the five year old for his poor timing, but it was soon outweighed by the happiness she felt as AJ wiggled excitedly, urging her to toss the ball back. She obeyed, making sure to bop it off his head as recompense for smacking her in the face.

They passed it back and forth a few times, revelling in the simple pleasure of the moment, for once just acting like a couple of kids.

Soon though, she set the ball aside, kneeling down to wrap AJ in a hug as he rushed into her arms. They held each other for a moment, and Clementine breathed a mental sigh of relief that he seemed to have recovered from his earlier upset. They still needed to have that conversation, but for the moment, Clementine was content to just enjoy the moment, as AJ told her that he loved her, and she responded likewise.

Finally, they seperated, and Clementine decided it was time to go check out the party and make sure everything was set up. AJ grabbed his drawing off the desk, and they set off, eager to see what Ruby had accomplished in their absence.

* * *

They’d made a good start in Clementine and AJ’s absence, but there were still plenty that needed to be done.

For one, Ruby had a banner she wanted to put up in the music room, where they’d be throwing the party. That was simple enough, but they still needed a message to actually  _ put on  _ the banner. In addition to that, they also needed to choose some music to play on an old gramophone Ruby had dug up, as well as what color of jar to use with candles in order to give the room some mood lighting. As she had come to expect, it was left to Clementine to make those decisions.

For lighting, she chose the purple jars, ostensibly because it was her dad’s favorite color, and secretly for more personal reasons she hoped the others wouldn’t pick up on. Clementine’s ears burned slightly when Violet revealed that she actually didn’t like purple, but it would look weird if she went back now, and so purple it was.

When it came to music, there wasn’t a huge selection, but Clementine ended up deciding on country. It would be nice to have something fast-paced and cheerful ,to take their minds off things. Plus, after their little encounter in her room, she had a plan for Violet that required some good dancing music…

Also, it was Ruby’s favorite, an unexpected but welcome bonus.

As for the banner, she left that up to AJ, knowing he’d like another chance to exercise his creativity. Ruby seemed a bit apprehensive about that, but Clementine trusted him to come up with something good.

With those decisions out of the way, all that was left to do was get everything set up. Clementine would’ve helped out, but Ruby mentioned something about Willy wanting to talk to her in the headmaster’s office.

And so, off she went, to check up on Willy while the others got everything ready.

* * *

Sure enough, Clementine found him up in the office, with some books on ships as well as a pile of chemicals and other supplies. She was surprised to see that among said supplies were several of Mitch’s makeshift bombs, prototypes of the one they’d used against the raiders the previous night. It wasn’t long before Clementine got an explanation.

Apparently, with the books he’d found, Willy had come up with a plan to blow up the raider’s ship with a bomb strategically placed in it’s boiler.

It was risky, especially with the question of  _ how long  _ they’d have to get off the ship before the bomb went off still unanswered, but Clementine had no choice but to trust Willy. Hopefully Mitch had passed along enough of his explosive talents to the younger boy for him to make it work. If it did, it could possibly solve their problem permanently if the raiders no longer had a way to reach the school. Of course, that still left the ones currently here to deal with, but… they’d cross that bridge when they got to it.

_ ‘Well Mitch, it looks like you’ll be able to have your revenge after all… I think you’d like that.’ _

That wasn’t all Willy had to say. Hesitantly, he offered an apology for the way he’d been talking about Tenn, and explained that he understood that it wasn’t his fault that Mitch had died.It was sweet of him to say, but it only really mattered that he said so to Tenn himself. She told him that, and, with nothing else to say, they headed back downstairs for the party.

* * *

As she walked through the door, Clementine was greeted by the sight of the music room fully decorated, with old-timey country music playing, and the whole room awash in a gorgeous purple glow from the candle-containing purple jars.

As she observed the little party, Clementine couldn’t help but chuckle as AJ danced along to the music. He was… enthusiastic, if nothing else.

As she walked over to compliment Ruby on the amazing job they’d done with the place, Clementine’s eyes were drawn to the banner hanging from the ceiling, a very thoughtful and poetic “SURPRISE DUMMIES” Written on it in white, blocky letters of paint. She couldn’t help but let her lips twitch up at the sight.  _ ‘AJ sure knows how to pick the most inspiring words, doesn’t he?’ _

Apparently Ruby had her own surprise planned for the party, but it wasn’t ready yet. All Clementine could do was  _ mingle,  _ as Ruby had put it, until it was ready.

Clementine’s immediate plan was to seek out Violet to ask her for a dance, but she was soon distracted as she noticed Willy and Tenn sitting on the floor in the upper-left corner of the room, Willy’s bomb in between them. Sighing, Clementine knew that she should probably check in with them to make sure things were running smoothly before anything else.  _ ‘Duty calls…’ _

As it turned out, things were going well, even without her. Tenn was giving Willy a hand with the bomb, and they seemed to have made up.

All Clementine needed to do was help give Willy’s finished product a name. “Mitch’s Masterpiece.” She hadn’t gotten to know the older boy all that well before he… well, Clementine thought he probably would’ve gotten a kick out of that.

With that out of the way, Clementine could  _ finally  _ have that dance with Violet. The older girl smiled as she saw her approach, eyes drifting from where she’d been observing AJ’s own moves.

“So… you enjoying the  _ party?”  _ Violet smirked, unspoken air quotes around the word.

“I think Ruby did a really nice job.” Clementine responded, a slight hint of reproach in her tone.

Violet rolled her eyes, but shrugged. “Yeah, I  _ guess… _ I just think it’s weird to have a party with so few people… aren’t parties supposed to have like, a ton of people or something?”

Clementine arched a brow at that. “I don’t know… I haven’t exactly been to many parties, if you can believe it.”

“Me neither. My family never really…  _ did  _ that sort of thing. The school used to have events for like, holidays and stuff, but it was always lame kiddie stuff.”

“Uh… weren’t  _ you  _ a kid?” Clementine hadn’t asked any ages, but Violet was clearly one of the oldest people at the school, and that still left her only a few years older than Clementine herself.  _ ‘Should I ask her age? Would that be rude? Ugh, I don’t know how any of this works!’ _

“Well… _yeah.”_ Violet answered humorously. “That doesn’t mean I hadn’t heard of what parties were _supposed_ to be like. I did watch the occasional move back home… mostly at other kids houses, but _still...”_ She tilted her head curiously at Clementine. “Was there a reason you made a beeline straight for me? Not… I mean, it’s not like I don’t _want_ to talk to you.” Violet’s words were hurried, as she stuttered and tried to correct herself, not that Clementine had actually taken offense. “I was just… wondering.”

The younger girl flashed a bright smile. “What, I can’t talk to my girlfriend?” She continued on as Violet’s cheeks flushed red. “Actually… I was wondering if you wanted to-to dance with me.” She got out, despite stumbling over her words ever so slightly.

The blonde stared at her in clear disbelief, speaking in a hissed whisper as she leaned in slightly.  _ “Right now? Here? In front of everyone?” _

Clementine smiled again, more nervous this time as she wondered if she’d made a mistake, or crossed a line with her request. “I mean, only if you want to.” She reassured. “I just thought… that since you enjoyed dancing back in my room, that-I mean, that you’d like to dance with  _ actual music  _ this time. Again,  _ only if you want to…” _

“It’s just…” Violet sighed. “I know I’m not the most  _ open  _ person… It just feels different having to dance in front of everyone. I’ll probably make us both look like  _ idiots.” _

Reaching a hand out, Clementine touched her girlfriend’s arm tenderly. “Violet, I don’t think  _ anyone  _ here really knows how to dance. Nothing you do will look unusual. Besides…” Clementine smirked up at her. “At least we’ll look like idiots  _ together.” _

The other girl snorted at that, shaking her head amusedly as she gave in. “Alright… so long as you don’t mind when I accidentally…  _ break your foot,  _ or something.”

“Hopefully not, that might make the mission a  _ little bit  _ tricker.” Clementine replied, snickering back.

Holding out her hands, Violet took them gently, and they moved into a looser version of the embrace they’d held in Clementine’s room, swaying lightly to the music.

Soon though, Clementine realized that what they were doing was all wrong for the tempo of the music, and she decided to step it up, pulling back as she grabbed onto Violet’s hands. The blonde seemed to catch on, stepping up the pace with her despite her self-conscious blush.

Moving together, they danced to the fast-paced country music. Well…  _ dance  _ might be a strong word to use for what they were doing. Mostly they were just swinging each other around, spinning wildly as Clementine tried her best not to get dizzy. It was still a lot of fun though, and Clementine grinned manically as she stared at Violet’s face while they spun, her girlfriend returning the look with her own smaller smile, that slowly grew wider and more unrestrained as she seemed to lose herself in their quick movements, forgetting all about the other people in the room as they let loose.

For long minutes, they moved together like that, until finally the song changed, and they slowly came to a stop, the momentum still carrying them for a few moments afterward. Violet's face was bright red, and Clementine felt like she needed to sit down as the world continued to spin around her. She couldn’t help the wild beating of her heart, and the ache in her jaw as her smile stretched the muscles there. It was  _ exhilarating. _

“That was…  _ something.”  _ Violet proclaimed, panting slightly as they leant up against the wall together. Despite Violet’s worry, there didn’t seem to be any attention on them. Or, at least, everyone was smart enough to stop looking as they finished.

Clementine snickered at that, her own cheeks burning slightly from the exercise. Years of running from walkers and fighting for her life still hadn’t prepared her for  _ that. _

Before either of them could say anything else, Ruby was calling for everyone’s attention as she came into the room carrying a box of what looked to be files. With a shared look and a shrug, they joined everyone else in a sitting circle around the cardboard box...

* * *

As it turned out, the box  _ did  _ contain files. More specifically, files about each of the kids and the myriad of issues they had that got, and kept them at the school. Ruby had an idea to read some of them out so Clementine could guess who each file was about, a sort of game to serve as a distraction from their upcoming trials.

Clementine started off strong, getting Ruby’s file right on the first try. She’d had a taste of Ruby’s temper in the weeks preceding, so it wasn’t exactly hard to guess who amongst them might’ve had a problem with ‘uncontrollable swearing and anger issues.’ 

She could’ve gone without learning about Willy’s reason for being here though. That was a bit  _ too much  _ information for her tastes.

The mood was slightly dampened by the realization of just how many kids had died at the school as they brushed through the files. Clementine didn’t recognize any of the names Tenn and the others listed out, but it was sobering nonetheless. It had been hard enough when  _ Duck  _ died all those years ago. She couldn’t imagine going through that with more than  _ 30  _ other kids.

It didn’t help when Ruby dug up Louis’s file, indirectly bringing up all the things they’d been trying not to think about by throwing this party. 

Regardless, it did lead to Violet explaining how  _ she’d  _ come to Ericson’s though, a subject Clementine had been curious about, but too tactful to bring up before then. Whatever she’d been expecting, from vandalism to a rebellious phase to getting into fights, the reality was far from what she’d imagined...

Hearing Violet talk about her home life… how her grandmother had  _ killed  _ herself… It sent a pit of ice into Clementine’s stomach as her heart ached in sympathy.

With everything she’d lost since the dead started walking, it was easy to forget that not everyone had been living the sort of comfortable life she’d had back in Georgia. From what Violet said, it was clear that even pre-apocalypse, her life had been far from easy. Clementine just wanted to wrap the other girl up in a hug and tell her everything would be okay, but she figured that the blonde would probably die of embarrassment if she did that in front of everyone else. 

Instead, Clementine had to settle for what few words of comfort she could give, not really knowing how to talk about Violet’s particular sort of trauma.

To cap off the evening, Tenn asked Violet to sing a song that Minnie had once used to calm everyone down. The brief annoyance Clementine felt at the mention of the redhead was soon extinguished as Violet stood up and started to sing…

_ ‘She has a beautiful voice…’ _

That was the only thought running through Clementine’s head in that moment as she stared at the blonde in undisguised awe. She’d never thought Violet to have a  _ bad  _ voice by any means, but to hear her sing like this… it was simply  _ amazing… _

The song itself was simple, but impactful in it’s words, and certainly relevant to their situation. She could see why Tenn and the others enjoyed it so much.

Of course, the song had to come to an end, and Violet was left standing there, clutching her arm awkwardly as she stared off to the side, clearly self-conscious about such a public performance, despite her clear talent.

The party broke up soon after that, as everyone pitched in to blow out candles and take down decorations, somber, but content after Violet’s song.

It was as she was organizing the purple jars on a table for easy transportation that Clementine noticed Violet talking to Tenn off to the side. She thought nothing of it, until Tenn ran over to AJ, clearly excited as they chattered back and forth. A moment later, AJ turned and rushed over to her side, a big smile on his face.

“Tenn invited me to sleep over with him tonight!” He said excitedly, looking up at her for approval.

Clementine smiled fondly, even as she wondered at what Violet was up to… “That’s okay with me. Just remember that you need to  _ sleep,  _ not stay up playing. We need to be rested if we want to rescue the others. Do you understand?”

AJ nodded rapidly, turning to dart back over to Tenn as they jabbered excitedly together. As Clementine watched, they ran out of the room, clearly eager for their little ‘sleepover.’

With them gone, she turned her curious gaze to Violet, who caught it and ambled over, wearing a nervous little smile that made Clementine arch her brow as her suspicion continued to grow with every moment…

“Hey Clem.” Violet greeted, overly casual as she leant her arm on the table, only to stumble and nearly fall over as the old table wobbled unsteadily. She caught herself and stood up straight, her temporary look of panic shifting back into that smile as she tried to act like nothing had happened.

“Hey…” Clementine replied, tilting her head slightly. “You wouldn’t happen to have had anything to do with Tenn asking AJ for a sleepover… would you?”

Green eyes widened at that, and Violet blushed, stammering over her words as she tried to explain herself. “Well… I-I just thought it might be nice for us to spend some time together before the raid…” She grew quieter and quieter as she spoke, until she was mumbling just barely loud enough for Clementine to hear. “Y’know… we could…  _ cuddle,  _ or something…  _ If you’re okay with that, I mean…” _

Clementine giggled, and decided to put Violet out of her misery, even as her own cheeks burned ever so slightly at the suggestion. “I think that sounds like a  _ lovely  _ idea Vi.”

Violet nodded at that, face still red, and together, they finished cleaning up so they could put the blonde’s plan into action, hurrying off to Clementine’s room so they could get some rest for the night’s events…

* * *

Like Clementine had told AJ, there was no time for goofing around, and so they wasted no time at all hopping into bed. It was a bit of a tight fit, considering the bed was only made with one person in mind, but they made it work by huddling together, arms wrapped around each other as they pulled one another close.

They spoke a little bit about their upcoming mission, but mostly they just cuddled quietly, enjoying one another’s presence as they felt each other’s comforting warmth.

Violet was the first to fall asleep, head slumping down against the pillow even as she tried to stay awake. Clementine remained where she was, gazing down at the blonde even as her arm was trapped under the other girl’s body. She didn’t mind though. It wasn’t like there was any other place she’d rather be at that moment anyway.

Lightly, Clementine brushed a stray lock of hair out of her girlfriend’s face as she watched her sleep, her own eyelids starting to grow heavy in sympathy. She was suddenly struck by the realization of  _ just how much _ she had to lose if things went wrong on that boat…

For a moment, Clementine was paralyzed by both fear, and  _ love _ as it occurred to her just how much the other girl meant to her. Maybe it was weird to care so much when they’d only known each other for a few weeks, but hey, life in the apocalypse was already short. You had to take what time you had, and enjoy what relationships you could build in that time. She already cared about AJ as her family, and over the past few weeks, she’d come to view the other kids of the school in that same light, as  _ family. _

With Violet, it was something even more than that. Clementine had never really  _ loved  _ anyone in that way before… maybe Gabe, but she tended to classify that as a crush more than anything. It was startling to realize the true  _ depth  _ of what she felt for Violet.

In that moment, Clementine knew that she had to be willing to do  _ anything  _ to keep her loved ones safe. She wouldn’t let what had happened to Lee and so many others happen to anyone else she cared about, not anymore. She was going to get on that boat, and  _ make sure  _ those raiders never hurt anyone else again. For AJ, Violet, and everyone else at the school.

Leaning down gingerly, Clementine pressed a light kiss to Violet’s forehead.  _ ‘I’ll do it for you.’  _ She thought solemnly.

With that, Clementine laid her head down, knowing she’d need her sleep if she was going to keep everyone safe on the raid. With one last sigh, she let herself drift off into a dream, a dream where she spoke to Lee, one of the first she’d ever lost. It only strengthened her resolve, even as her former guardian reassured her that everything would be fine. She said her goodbyes to him, knowing that he’d be with her every step of the way, just like he’d always been…

Just a few hours after Clementine shut her eyes, she woke up to Violet shaking her lightly, as AJ stood in the doorway. It was time.

* * *

It took them slightly longer than last time to reach the river. The large group they had, combined with the darkness of night, ensured a bumpy passing through the forest, full of trips and scrapes as they stumbled, unwilling to risk detection by lighting a torch.

James showed up not a minute later. Evidently, he’d been waiting for their arrival for some time.

He was clearly uncomfortable with so many people, but they took well to him, which, honestly might have just made him more awkward. Clementine couldn’t help but feel that James was more used to hostility and distrust than excited requests to try on his mask, but that was Willy for you. It broke the ice at least, enabling them to move forward quickly.

As they waited for James’ herd to reach the river, he pulled Clementine away from the group for a chat, speaking of his boyfriend and his time in the whisperers. It was  _ crazy _ to hear how violent and unstable he’d once been, but Clementine didn’t quite understand the point he was trying to make until he brought up AJ. He was worried about the young boy becoming a monster, like he’d been in the past.

Clementine did her best to reassure him. She didn’t want AJ to become a killer anymore than he did, and she’d try her best to prevent that. Still, a part of her couldn’t help but wonder if that was really feasible with the world the way it was…

Regardless, she gave her word, and they returned to the group to confirm the plan once last time.

Willy would burn the materials out on the riverside, creating an extra distraction for the raiders. While he did that, Ruby and Tenn would try to steal the horses, along with whatever food and other supplies for them they could. No point in having horses if you can’t even feed them after all. Violet held the bomb, and she would join Clementine and AJ in sneaking onto the boat via the herd, covering themselves in guts to pass through undetected.

Even as everyone readied themselves, there were a few last-minute conversations that needed to be held.

Violet had told Tenn about Minerva, and he asked Clementine to tell the redhead that he forgave her. Despite her misgivings about his sister, she agreed. Maybe hearing his words would make her have a sudden change of heart. Clementine doubted it, but it was worth a shot.

Finally, Clementine checked up on Violet herself, doing her best to assuage the blonde’s fears about the potential of one of them getting caught in there.

Despite all of her experience calming people down, all the times she had seen Lee, or Javier, or Luke have this sort of conversation, Clementine abandoned all of that in favor of a reassuring kiss, barely even thinking before she was leaning in. It was effective, even if they were both left blushing, especially when they realized that AJ had seen them. Embarrassment aside, Violet seemed to feel better, and so Clementine decided it was worth it.

With everyone ready for action, and the herd fast approaching the boat, Clementine began the odious task of covering herself in walker guts, helping out Violet, who luckily seemed much more okay with the concept than she’d feared. She did her best to steady her rapidly-beating heart, knowing that the next few minutes would require utmost focus…

* * *

Despite her worry, things went rather well… at first.

They used the herd to hide their approach from the Delta, making their way to the docks, which they used as cover as they waded through the river. The overpowering sound of gunfire mixed with the snarls of the walkers served as a useful smokescreen for their activities.

There was a slight scare when one walker managed to grab her and pull her underwater, but Clementine, with her years of experience, managed to break free. Another issue occurred when Clementine had to cover them from walkers with Marlon’s bow while they worked out a way onboard the boat, but once again, they managed to survive, infiltrating the vessel without alerting any of the raiders.

Inside, they had to take down a few soldiers as they made their way to the boiler, though Clementine did her best to remain non-lethal. Clementine had been serious about her words to James. She’d do her best to shield AJ from such violence, no matter how inevitable it seemed.

That wasn’t to say she didn’t  _ think  _ about killing them though. It would certainly solve a lot of problems,  _ and  _ prevent them from getting revenge. In the end though, she decided that, between the walkers and the fact that the boat would be destroyed soon, these raiders would all die anyway. Clementine might not have killed them, but that didn’t mean she had to care about them staying alive...

Moving quietly and efficiently, they managed to place the bomb in the boiler. Willy had been sure that the bomb would go off once the ship was powered on. Clementine didn’t know much about bombs, but she had to trust that he was right.

From there, they made their way to the cell block, right where Minnie had said it would be. Only one problem…  _ Minnie  _ was the guard there. It was here that  _ everything _ went wrong.

At first, it seemed like the redhead would help them, especially when Clementine repeated Tenn’s message to her. She told them she’d help them rescue the others, and, foolishly, they let their guards down. It was only for a moment…

It was enough.

From behind, another raider appeared, a woman, yelling for them to put their hands up.

Clementine and the others whipped around, ready to fight, but that gave Minerva the opportunity she’d no doubt been waiting for since the moment they revealed themselves to her.

Before they could even fully register what was going on, Minnie had lunged forward, grabbing AJ and wrenching him towards her, pulling out a slim hunting knife that she held tightly to his throat, demanding they drop their weapons and give up.

Clementine’s first instinct was to lose herself in a murderous rage, to make the redhead  _ suffer  _ for even threatening to hurt her child. It was a feeling she hadn’t felt in a long time, and it was chased by bone-chilling fear, desperation in her tone as she  _ begged  _ Minerva to stop, to  _ let him go. _

Coldy, the taller girl reiterated her demands, readjusting her grip on AJ to force his arm behind his back.

Terrified and with no other options, Clementine had no choice but to comply, Violet following her lead even as she stared down her former girlfriend with an icy glare.

And so, weapons on the floor and hands behind their backs, Clementine, Violet, and AJ were escorted to join their friends in the prison cells, a mixture of shame and anger pervading Clementine’s thoughts as she realized just how badly things had gone wrong...

* * *

_ ‘Damn it… damn it! Damn it damn it damn it!’ _

It was childish, Clementine knew, but she couldn’t help her frustration at the turn things had taken.

Clementine and Violet shared their own cell, adjacent to the one Aasim and Omar were in. AJ had been locked in with Louis across the hall. 

It was with shock and horror that Clementine was informed by AJ that the raiders had  _ cut out his tongue!  _ Clementine felt like she was going to be sick, white-hot shame ripping through her as she realized just how much her split-second decision had cost the once cheerful boy. Now he was cowering in a corner, scared out of his mind and maimed for life, all because Clementine had been  _ selfish. _

Even so, Clementine couldn’t help but wonder what would’ve happened to Violet if she’d been taken instead. The mere thought filled her stomach with ice, but she didn’t have much time to think on it before Lilly arrived.

She wasn’t happy to hear from AJ that Abel was dead, and yet, she also seemed strangely…  _ impressed,  _ with Clementine’s efforts, talking about what a  _ prize  _ she’d make to bring back to the Delta, like she was some sort of chicken or cow that you’d grade at a fair. Clementine made it clear that she’d  _ never  _ join them, but that only amused Lilly, who insisted she’d come around, entering her and Violet’s cell to talk to her directly.

Lilly then began to talk about her father Larry, an anecdote that only confirmed to Clementine that the man she’d thought was scary back at the motor inn was  _ always  _ an asshole.

What Lilly said next though, sent chills down Clementine’s spine as she started to go on about what she called “The Parable of the Twins.”

Clementine's annoyance turned to shock, and then  _ horror  _ as she realized what Lilly was saying, that Minerva had  _ killed her own sister,  _ all to prove her loyalty to the Delta. Violet wasn’t any better off, ranting and raving even as Minerva remained cold and silent, and another raider demanded that she calm down.

As Lilly finished her demented little fairy tale, she pierced Clementine with a predatory glare. “Do you understand the moral of the story?”

Clementine glowered back, trying not to show her fear. “That you’re an evil bitch?” She spat back..

Lilly sighed, like she was just a school teacher dealing with an unruly student.  _ “That disobedience has consequences.”  _ Slowly, a twisted little smirk started to grow on her face. “It seems you need some  _ extra lessons  _ to help you understand.”

“There’s  _ nothing  _ you can do to me that would make me join you!” Clementine growled.

The smirk grew wider. “I know.” Turning to one of the guards, an older black woman, she started to give orders. “Grab her. Hold her down. Sullene and I've got the blonde.”

Moving quickly, the raider grabbed her, slamming her into the floor with a surprising amount of strength, her grip like iron as Clementine struggled fruitlessly. At the same time, another guard, presumably Sullene, who Clementine recognized from the school raid, joined Lilly in pinning Violet down, even as she cursed and hollered, squirming desperately against her grip.

“It seems  _ Clementine  _ doesn’t quite get how things work yet.” Lilly told the blonde. “You’re going to help me  _ show her.” _

Without a moment's hesitation, Lilly reached down, tightly gripping Violet’s arm to hold her still. Quickly, almost casually, she took hold of Violet’s pointer finger, pulling it back until a  _ snap  _ was heard throughout the room.

Violet’s scream echoed throughout the cell block, and Clementine’s shouts joined her, begging for Lilly to  _ “Please stop! Just hurt me instead please stop please you don’t have to do this!” _

Lilly ignored her, continuing to break the fingers of Violet’s right hand one by one, each of them remaining bent backwards in a way that made Clementine want to throw up, even as she continued to beg, vision beginning to blur behind the tears that grew in her eyes.

All the while, Violet continued to scream and sob, kept from writhing in agony by the strong hands holding her down, her cries peaking with each new break.

Finally, like some monstrous showman delivering their main act, Lilly stood up, bringing her combat boot-clad foot down onto Violet’s arm, _hard._ A loud and sickening _snap_ was heard, seemingly drowning out all other noises in Clementine’s head, even as Violet shrieked in undisguised anguish. Clementine continued to move weakly, no longer able to see properly behind her tears, still feebly calling out for mercy…

“I think this has been a  _ very  _ informative lesson.” Lilyl declared, satisfaction oozing through her tone as Violet whimpered on the floor. Sullene had let her go, correctly guessing that the blonde was no longer a threat. “I’ll send someone down to fix her up… eventually. For now Clementine, I want you to stay here with her, and  _ reflect  _ on the fact that  _ all of this _ could’ve been avoided if you’d just been a  _ good girl.” _

With that, Clementine was released, as Lilly and her soldiers filed out of the room, making sure to bar the door behind them as they left Minerva to stand guard.

Immediately, Clementine was at Violet’s side, one hand combing lightly through her hair in comfort as the other hovered over her prone body, wishing she could do  _ anything  _ to alleviate her suffering.

_ “I am so sorry.” _ Clementine whispered.  _ “So, so sorry…” _

Violet didn’t respond, still quietly sobbing as tears ran down her face. Her arm was bent out of shape, and her fingers weren’t much better. Even if she got to a doctor soon, there was no guarantee that it would  _ ever  _ heal correctly.

Sitting there, helpless as her girlfriend suffered in her arms, a cold rage began to take hold of Clementine as she thought of the one responsible for this. She might not be able to help Violet right now, but  _ revenge?  _ That was something she was  _ very  _ well versed in. The rage began to subsume all thought in Clementine’s head, as a numb feeling began to take over all higher functions…

* * *

Everything that happened after that seemed to pass by in a haze to Clementine, a dreamlike state of hate and anger as she sought out her revenge.

She hardly remembered breaking out of her cell, knocking out Minerva, and freeing the others, though she at least still had the presence of mind to ensure that Violet was safe with the rest as they evacuated the boat. 

Things passed in flashes after that, sneaking through the boat, fighting for her life against Lilly...

The next thing Clementine knew, she was out on the deck, the snarls of walkers and sounds of gunfire still echoing into the night. Lilly was on her knees, begging for her life as AJ held a gun to her head. Off to the side, James and Tenn watched on, the former advocating for mercy even as the latter, a boy she’d thought of as so kind and innocent, called for the woman’s head.

Clementine felt a surge of anger run up her spine as Lilly pled before her, remembering how her own cries had been so cruelly ignored.

Even then, a flash of doubt passed through her mind, as she recalled her promise to James. Clementine didn’t want her boy to become a killer, not even to end someone as evil as Lilly…

At that moment, a sort of cold clarity began to fill her veins as she realized the simple solution. AJ was innocent, and Clementine wanted him to stay that way… but she already had a mountain of corpses behind her, from a lifetime of struggle and death. What was one more body on the pile?

Clear and Calm, eerily calm for what she was about to do, Clementine demanded AJ’s gun, and the five year old obeyed, conditioned by a lifetime of following her orders.

She ignored James’ pleas as she stood in front of the woman who had almost taken everything from her, eyes and gun focused squarely on Lilly as she begged on her knees. “Wait, Clementine,  _ don’t!”  _ Lilly’s eyes were wild and unfocused, like some wild animal that knew it was caught in a trap “Remember what you said?! Back at the school?! We were  _ family  _ once! I promise I’ll never-”

_ CRACK! _

Lilly’s head jerked back, her final, desperate plea cut off as she collapsed on her side, a neat little hole right between her eyes. Clementine stared at the body for several long moments, as blood dripped from the wound, forming a viscous pool on the deck.  _ “Not. Anymore.”  _ She growled softly.

Finally, she looked away, only one thing on her mind as her focus shifted.  _ ‘Violet, I’m comin-’ _

Suddenly, the deck shifted violently as an explosion rang throughout the ship, throwing everyone off their feet as the entire world seemed to shake. Clementine slammed into the side of the boat’s cabin as she was launched, blacking out on impact, as everything turned to fire around her...

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, interact with me, and see extra content related to my writing, such as deleted scenes!


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